Maria Sanchez
Maria Sanchez was the 10th president of the Seventh Republic of Egelion. She was a Senator for the Social Democratic and Labor Party. Early Life Maria Sanchez was born on Jan 15, 2815 in Midmont Amateria to politician Anabel Sanchez and factory worker Manuel Sanchez. Anabel, being an influencial member of the newly created Unity Party, jokingly refered to her daughter as "a daughter of the party." This title soon took on a new significance, however, as Maria was essentially raised by her parents and other Unity Party/SDLP party heads. Her childhood was spent not in her home province of Amateria, but split between Dul Kinea and Caille. On her constant moving, she once state that "knowing I could never truly live in Amateria in peace is the one thing that would ever prevent my from fulfilling my political destiny" By Maria's 15th birthday, she was the leader of the SDLP Youth Wing. In 2839, Maria was elected as the youngest Senator in SDLP history at only 24. Political Career Maria had little time to prepare for her new duties as a Senator. Her mother, Anabel, had been elected Party Chairman in 2838, and she expected to Maria to be her political partner. Anabel was incredibly popular within the party, but had little connection with the people of Egelion. The responsibility of spreading the party's message fell upon the young, attractive and spirited Maria. While the SDLP's fortunes continued to slide, Maria's popularity within the party and among the populace as a whole was incredibly high. When her mother had an sudden stroke in 2846, Maria was the natural successor in the eyes of many party members. Her election as party chair also signaled a generational shift, as Maria was the first party chair not to be among the founding members of the party. Maria's first election was one of great hope. The sudden appearance of the Bolivarian Revolutionary Party and Egelion Democrats, however, tempered the mood greatly. The SDLP fell to third place and lost 90 seats in the process. Many in the party took solace in the fact that the SDLP's losses were far milder than the Egelion People's Party. Others, however, took note that the SDLP had far less seats to lose and voiced concerns that Maria was too young and too inexperianced to run the party. Maria decided to forego the normal EPP/SDLP coalition due to continued problems between the two parties. Risking a potential caucus revolt, Maria approached the ED, proposing a coailtion. Being in power, even with an ideologically opposite party, quieted many of her opponents in the party. During this coalition, Maria also helped forge an alliance with the BRP's reformed party, the Egelion Leftist Front. This electoral alliance led to Maria's election as President of Egelion in 2850. She also helped bridge the issues with the EPP's successor party, the Christian Socialist People's Party. This kept the SDLP in a coalition government, along with the CSPP and ELF. In the election of 2853, however, the ELF/SDLP coalition came up 1% short of a presidential run-off. The SDLP faired well in the election, only losing 3 seats to the exploding Power Centrist Party. She felt that the time had come for her to step down, however, and she resigned pending the election of a new party chair. Maria continued the trend of her predecessors of moving the SDLP further to the left of the old Unity Party. Despite being a practicing member of the Church of Egelion, Maria once stated "I love my church and I love my country, but as anyone with two lovers knows, it is best not to have them meet." Maria's radical secularist policies cause great friction with her two coalition members. Upon his election as party chair, Maria's successor Franklin Goedring stated that "Maria is easily the best thing that has happened to this party since von Druck's decision to fight for the cause of Egelians in 2812. After the death of Prime Minister Franklin Smith at the hands of communist rebels, President Ian Smith called for a wartime coalition including all parties of the Senate. Maria was called into service as Foreign Minister due to her experiance gained as President of Egelion and her role as a party leader. After the attack, Maria declared "May God have mercy on the comminist, for we shall not." Personal Life Maria married Terrance Franco mere days before her first election into the Senate. Many credit her husband for her strong leftist policies, as both of his parents were members of the old Popular Communist Front of Egelion. When asked about his influence on her policies, she said "of course he influences my decisions. It is like when your spouse influences what movie you see or what you have for dinner, only it affects far more people." Maria has two children. Her daughter, Anabel Franco, was born in 2842 in Libertaria, Dul Kinea. Upon her birth, an ailing Thomas O'Connor declared "the next generation of SDLP leadership has been born". In 2849, her son Juan Franco was born in Nordland, Caille during a party conference. With reference to O'Connor's statement about Maria's first child, an noted detractor of both Anabel and Maria Sanchez joked "well, at least Maria isn't being secretive about her plans to take over the party." After retiring from politics in 2889, Maria returned to Demar Solad to live in peace and quiet. Before her death in 2894, Maria jokingly stated that "My mother was SDLP party chairwoman, I was president. My daughter was prime minister and two-time president. My grandchildren will rule the world." Category:Egelian politicians